Halloween Time

I'm out of town at a wedding this weekend, but I need to share some Halloween fun!

In anticipation of the holiday I'm passing along an excellent website of kitty Halloween costumes (thanks Emily!)

Look for more Halloween fun tomorrow!

Yay for the weekend!

(And congrats to all the new Ohio lawyers!)

It's Pumpkin Wednesday!

Welcome to another wonderful Pumpkin Wednesday!  In the spirit of Halloween, I made Pumpkin a "kitty kerchief" to wear around the house.

Hoping to make a new "kerchief" for every season/holiday

As the last "pumpkin flavored" inspired Wednesday of October, I highlight a few awesome and ridiculous pumpkin flavored products... Enjoy!

These are some unlikely products you can buy in a pumpkin flavor, and since October is almost over, now may be the perfect time to stock up on these seasonal items at a reduced price.

• Hershey Kisses makes a "pumpkin spice" flavor of the traditional kisses.  According to one blogger, the spices and overall flavor of this seasonal take on this "kiss" is pretty tasty but maybe only worth buying once for the novelty factor.

I really want to try these!

• Kellogg's Pop Tarts has a seasonal flavor of Frosted Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts.  Kellogg's recommends this Pop Tart for breakfast on Thanksgiving day.  The ad suggests pairing the Pop Tart with some other random breakfast items to make them look like a real Thanksgiving meal.  This blog vouches for their delicious flavor, and suggests you might be able to find this product in the "seasonal" aisles in Target.

Do you like your Pop Tarts toasted or Cold?

• Last week I bought some Pumpkin flavored ice cream.  I have to say I prefer eating pumpkin bread, or even drinking a pumpkin beer to get my taste of pumpkin spices, but if you are looking for subtle flavor, pick out a pint next time you are in the grocery.

• And finally, this year, a pumpkin grown in Wisconsin broke the Guinness World Record as the largest Pumpkin EVER!  Weighing in at 1810.5 pounds, this epically large Pumpkin beat the previous record by about 85 pounds!  Check out the Huffington Post article for more information about this monstrous gourd.

Photo courtesy of http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants/giantpumpkins.htm

I know I haven't had time to talk about all the pumpkin flavored products out there, so tell me about your favorite pumpkin flavored item!

-Almost to Thursday!

Chicken Noodle Soup=Delicious

So last week I said there would be no more 80+ days in Cleveland.  That fact has turned out to be true, but the weather is still unseasonably warm this week!  I was all set to make homemade chicken noodle soup in preparation for a cold evening and was not going to be deterred by this strange warming trend.

Let me take you through the stages of Soup

A Time Consuming Endeavor

• This process of "soup making" is not for the faint of heart.  In total, by the time I finished grocery shopping, it took nearly 3+ hours to make the soup.  So, plan on taking some quality weekend time to construct this delicious dish.

Cookbook

• While I was home over labor day, my mom recommended I buy The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Shelia Lukins.  Following her advice I ordered a used copy on half.com. (Here's a link in case you are in the market for a new cookbook).  It really is a great cookbook with a wide variety of recipes that will satisfy both the new and experienced cook

Recipe

• Because my mom was out of town and I couldn't bug her for her recipe (which is straight out of her old school Betty Crocker Cookbook) I decided to try the one in The New Basics.  Here's the ingredients list I ended up using, and my take on the cooking directions.
• Ingredients
• 1 chicken, 4 or 5 pounds, preferably a stewing hen 
• 2 onions, halved
• 6 ribs celery, with leaves
• 6 carrots, peeled
• 3 cloves garlic
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 quarts water
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• 1 package Egg Noodles

• So I took the chicken out of the package, gave it a rinse, left the skin on and broke it down into a few pieces.  Some recipes say you can use the whole chicken intact to make the broth, but other recipes recommended cutting the chicken up to make tearing it later easier.  I prepped the veggies and added them to the pot.  I reserved 1 cup of chopped celery and 1 cup of chopped carrot to use later in the overall soup.  
• Quick note, get all the veggies into the pot with the chicken before you put the water in, it makes life much easier.  When you add the water, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.  Note this is a long time.  Also, you should skim off any foam that forms.  I did not have any foam, and I'm not sure why.  Let me know if you are familiar with this concept of "chicken foam"
• After the long 2 hours, remove the chicken, let it cool, discard the veggies (sorry they are no good after their stew with the chicken!).  Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, take it off the bone, get rid of the skin, shred and set aside so it can go back into the soup!
• Strain the soup broth. At this point you have 2 options.  You can let the broth cool in the fridge so the fat will be easy to remove (but it requires more time!) or you can try to remove the fat by letting the fat come to the top while the broth is hot, and taking it off with a ladle, very slowly and patiently.  Life is even easier if you have a skimmer, which separates the fat.

Very helpful for removing some of the chicken fat

• Also, neat trick if you don't have a skimmer, you can use a paper towel to soak up some of the fat once it comes to the top.  I used the ladle + paper towel method, with pretty successful results.
• Cook the noodles in a separate pot.  They won't need to cook for too long.
• Return the broth to the pot, add about 1 cup of water, the cup of celery and carrot, and chicken bullion cube.  Simmer for about 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.
• Almost there! Add in the cooked noodles, chicken, salt and pepper to taste and let simmer just enough that all is heated through.

Whew! Done!  Time to eat some delicious soup, store some soup, and put it into lunch sized containers for a hearty noon time meal.

This has to be my most favorite time consuming recipe, what is the thing you will slave in the kitchen for?

-Best wishes for a wonderful Tuesday

Pumpkin Wednesday!

Hello all, and welcome to Pumpkin Wednesday.  Congratulations! We are halfway through the work week!

Pumpkin has had a relaxing day hanging out in a cardboard box.  I wish my life were so simple where I could get so much joy from jumping in and out of a box that was destined for the garbage.

Pumpkin loves the cardboard box.

Continuing this October routine of discussing pumpkin flavored items, I finally got my act together and made some pumpkin bread.  Now I have never made pumpkin bread before but really wanted to try this recipe.  I made a few substitutions, and here they are

• took the advice of another reader and reduced the sugar to 2 1/2 cups.  I used 2 cups white sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar.
• Didn't have ground cloves in the cupboard (I'm rebuilding my spice collection)  so I went without.  I decided not to increase any of the other spices just to be on the safe side.
• I only had a 15 ounce can of pumpkin, not 16 ounce can.

The final product looks a little something like this:

Certainly they are not perfect, but the bread tastes great!

For all you bakers, any secrets for making the perfect loaf of pumpkin bread or pumpkin spice muffins or the like?

-Almost Thursday!

Baby it's Cold Outside

There appear to be no more 80+ degree days in the forecast here in Cleveland.  Midwest weather will surprise me from time to time, but we are at the point in the fall when it's downright cold in our apartment at night.  Always conscious about reducing energy and saving money, I want to make sure I take the right steps to winterize my apartment.

This article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer highlights tips for houses.  While some of the advice, like "checking the roof" is house, rather than apartment specific, the overall gist is the same.  Get in touch with your landlord, have him check the structural things in the house, and make sure your furnace has a clean filter and is ready to go for the winter.

Probably the most fun winterizing activity is insulating your windows.  All it takes is a kit (like the one pictured below and available at your local hardware store), some scissors and a hairdryer.  It's a pretty time intensive project, but worth the effort of keeping drafts from coming through your old windows.

Don't wait too long to get your winterizing kit, or you will find them out at your local hardware store

Another important part of winterizing is figuring out how to keep utility costs down.  For those of you in Northeast Ohio who use natural gas heating, you have an important choice to make about your natural gas supplier.  The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio publishes information and "Apples to Apples" charts with data about the rates for all the area suppliers.

Depending on your needs and current supplier, you may benefit from a change to a different supplier.  Before you make any switch, check to see if the rate is variable and how much it might fluctuate with market prices, and whether there is any penalty if you terminate the contract early.  If you aren't sure who your supplier is, it is listed on your current month's bill.

Besides these steps, grab some extra blankets, put on a sweatshirt and invest in some slippers!  How are you reducing energy costs without sacrificing comfort?

-Looking forward to Tuesday!

Pumpkin Wednesday

For the next three Wednesdays in October, Pumpkin's post will highlight a pumpkin flavored product on the market!

Hello Halloween Pumpkin!

Tonight we start with beers.  Last week we stopped at the local beverage store where they sell beers by the single.  At this time of the year there are quite a few pumpkin flavored beers on the market, and we wanted to sample a few.  I would recommend this method if you're in the mood for finding that perfect pumpkin ale because every brand is so very different.  What we ended up with in our cart were:

• Wolaver's Certified Organic: Will Steven's Pumpkin Ale
• Shipyard Pumpkin Ale
• Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
• New Holland Brewing Company Ichabod Pumpkin Ale

My favorite pumpkin flavored beer out of this group is the Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale.  Although I don't know a lot about beer tasting, it has a strong cinnamon and brown sugar taste and a hint of pumpkin that is complimentary to the spcices.  The beer is a bit heavier than some of the others we tried and not overly bitter.

Dogfish Head, brewed in Delaware

I also liked the New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale.  Brewed in Michigan, it doesn't have an overwhelming pumpkin flavor and I have had varying versions of the beer whether on draft or in a bottle.

New Holland Brewery, New Holland Michigan

If I was to buy another sampling of beers, I would skip the Will Steven's Pumpkin Ale and the Shipyard, as they both seemed to lack any real Pumpkin flavor.  With that being said, I would definitely recommend buying singles (if you can) before committing to an entire six pack of a pumpkin ale.

I also know this review may not be the most helpful, so check out all the reviews on beeradvocate where they list reviews for over 100 types of pumpkin ales.

Enough from me, what is your favorite pumpkin beer?

-Thursday is on its way!

Back from the Blogging Hiatus

Sorry to disappoint all those who take the time to read this blog/procrastinate.  I have not been diligent about writing for the past week, and I couldn't even get Pumpkin to give me a good idea for her weekly post. But not to worry.  I am back, and ready to post, post, post all those questions related to domestic matters...

A quick recap of things I have cooked/baked this past week:

Thursday:  My friend Ashley was so wonderful and invited a group of us over for dinner.  She made the main course (delicious pasta), tomato and mozzarella and warm biscuits.  She asked me to bring something for dessert and I didn't have much time to put together anything too crazy.  My mom recommended this wonderful recipe from epicurious.com for a quick apple tart.  I recommend following the recipe exactly as is, and the result is a delicious, impressive and delightfully simple dessert.  I also added some homemade whipped cream to the top.

You can arrange the apples however you like.  When I make this again, I will cut the apples thinner.

Saturday:  My family came to my apartment, and although I had invited them, I wasn't sure they would make the stop.  However, when they called on about an hours notice, I was glad I had a few snacks on hand to keep everyone happy during the Michigan State-Michigan football game.  This somewhat unexpected arrival reminded me why it's nice to keep the fridge stocked with a few types of cheeses, some fruit and veggies and a box or two of crackers.  Without too much effort I was able to make an impressive cheese plate for everyone to nosh on.  If you are a cheese-lover like myself, it's never a much problem to have a few extra cheeses on hand in case people come over.

Sunday:  Ashley, being a wonderful hostess, again, invited us over for a bit of tailgating before watching the Browns game at her apartment.  Again, I needed to bring something and had bought the ingredients to make chicken wings a few days beforehand.  I used a recipe from Ina Garten that suggested broiling the chicken wings instead of deep frying them which gives them that nice crisp flavor without all the hot oil.

But the real funny part of this story is how I prepared the actual chicken wings.  Although you can get your butcher to give you precut chicken wings (like the kind you get at your favorite sports bar), you can also cut your own from the chicken wings you buy in the grocery case.  The problem I ran into was that I didn't have a very sharp knife, and the cracking of bones was just too much for me at 8:30 in the morning.  I made my boyfriend cut up the chicken wings, which turned out to be sooo difficult because we were doing it wrong...

All I can say is if you are interested in cutting your own chicken wings, which I would totally advise because it shouldn't be too hard and is cheaper, watch this one minute video for a simple explanation about how to make cutting them a painless process.

Anyway, here is how the chicken wings looked once they were cut and were getting sauced

Love Frank's Buffalo Sauce

And here is how happy everyone was at our tailgate!

What is the kitchen/cooking process you made much more difficult than it needed to be?

-Almost Halfway Through the Week!

Baby Showers and Applesauce

Tonight’s post has two parts: an etiquette question about baby showers and my mom's homemade applesauce recipe

Part I

While most of us 20-somethings have the most questions about etiquette for weddings, some of our friends and family members are already blessed with children.  The other day, my best friend asked me whether she is obligated to send a gift to a baby shower she cannot attend.  After some research, yes research, the general rule about gifts for baby showers is simple; you are under no obligation to give a gift, and you should make your decision in light of your relationship to the mom-to-be.

The lovely Emily Post has an entire website dedicated to etiquette and a helpful section about how to behave at a baby shower.  She advises if you live far away, and you cannot attend the shower, it is up to you to determine whether you need to send a gift based on your  relationship with the mom-to-be.  Simply receiving an invitation does not obligate you to send a gift.

So in the situation where you are not an out of town guest, but are unable to attend the baby shower, do you still need to send a gift?  Although there are no hard and fast answers, I believe the answer is no, you are not obligated to send a gift.  Again, it really depends on your relationship to the mom-to-be, so trust your judgment!  If you do want to send a gift, you don't need to break the bank.  Remember, the most important part about giving a gift is making sure it is thoughtful.

Hope this helps!  If you have a different view about gift giving, please share!

Part II

Now that fall is officially here, there are a variety of foods that go great with the weather.  My first favorite fall food is homemade applesauce.  My mom always makes when the apples are in season, and it's a relatively easy treat.

My mom doesn't use strict measurements, everything is done to taste.  I'll give you my best approximations in the recipe, so feel free to make changes according to taste

Ingredients

• 6 apples, peeled and sliced- I recommend using 3 Macintosh and 3 more firm apples (Gala, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady)
• 1 1/4 cup of water
• Brown Sugar- about 1/4 of a cup
• White Sugar- a little less than 1/4 of a cup
• Ground Cinnamon- 3 shakes
• Ground Nutmeg- 1 shake

Peel the apples and slice them into a medium saucepan.  

Apples!

Add about 1 and 1/4 cup of water and heat on medium.  When the apples start to break down, mash them using a masher, or a wooden spoon will work fine if that is what you have available.  Add your sugars, and spices, and taste along the way.  You may need to add more of a certain ingredient based on the flavors of your apples.  

The final product!

When you are satisfied with the flavor, serve hot and enjoy!

Does your mom make applesauce, or other fall food that goes great with cold weather?  Share your recipes!

-Best Wishes for a Wonderful Week!